Internet-based education support system and methods

ABSTRACT

A system and methods for implementing education online by providing institutions with the means for allowing the creation of courses to be taken by students online, the courses including assignments, announcements, course materials, chat and whiteboard facilities, and the like, all of which are available to the students over a network such as the Internet. Various levels of functionality are provided through a three-tiered licensing program that suits the needs of the institution offering the program. In addition, an open platform system is provided such that anyone with access to the Internet can create, manage, and offer a course to anyone else with access to the Internet without the need for an affiliation with an institution, thus enabling the virtual classroom to extend worldwide.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is based on and claims filing priority fromco-pending U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/141,283, filed onJun. 30, 1999; co-pending U.S. provisional application Ser. No.60/141,864, filed on Jul. 1, 1999; and co-pending U.S. provisionalapplication Ser. No. 60/187,890, filed on Mar. 8, 2000, all of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for theexchange of information between instructors and students in aneducational context. More specifically, the present invention relates tosystems and methods in which an educational instructor interacts withone or more non-collocated students by transmitting course lectures,textbooks, literature, and other course materials, receiving studentquestions and input, and conducting participatory class discussionsusing an electronic network such as the Internet and World Wide Web. Thepresent invention also relates to the provision of an infrastructurethat allows for on-line registration and tuition payment of educationalcourses.

The ability of educators, including educational institutions, privatecorporations, and institutions of higher learning, to reach potentialstudents has generally been limited by geography. In most instances, apotential student must physically move to within commuting distance oronto a campus in order to have access to course instructors, classes,and materials. Furthermore, potential students and persons seekingknowledge of all sorts are generally limited to proximate sources ofcourses of instruction, tutoring, or training. Due to these limitations,a prospective student must either seek to learn a given subject fromwhatever local means of instruction is available to her or move herhousehold in order to be able to access her preferred sources ofinstruction. Many prospective students are deprived of receivinginstruction from other, possibly better-qualified instructors orinstitutions located outside of their immediate locale. Similarly,educational institutions have been limited to serving only thosestudents located within commutable distance of their campuses.

The advent of networked computers and communications has afforded apartial solution to these limitations. In particular, the widespread useand availability of electronic networks such as the Internet and theWorld Wide Web have made it possible for students and educators toovercome geographic dispersion and physical location as a barrier toeducation. Using this electronic medium, students and instructors areable to exchange information including (live or transcribed) classroomlectures, homework assignments, texts and materials, grading, (live ortranscribed) question and answer interaction sessions, and other relatedinformation to effect a traditional learning or educational experienceregardless of physical location.

However, electronic networks, including the Internet, are complextechnological systems requiring the user to have or acquire specializedknowledge in order to use them effectively. Even graphical userinterfaces (GUIs) designed to enhance simplicity of use, such as thatprovided by the World Wide Web, may require specialized knowledge ofnetwork terminology and technical aspects. For example, an Internetuser's ability to access information using that medium is significantlyreduced if the user lacks understanding of how to use Uniform ResourceLocators (URLs) to traverse (i.e., navigate) web pages. Slow adoption ofnew technology and lack of technological sophistication have a chillingeffect on the widespread use of the medium in general. Appliedspecifically in an educational context, these chilling factors apply toinstructors who, while possessing high expertise in their respectiveintellectual or educational fields, would be required to further attaintechnological knowledge necessary to effectively use the Internet toeducate non-collocated students.

Furthermore, the complexity of using the Internet for educationalpurposes is compounded as the number of user choices required at theuser interface increases because not only must the instructor andstudents acquire technological competency in the use of the medium, butthey must in addition understand the presentation and consequences of aplethora of choices required by a particular user interface (e.g., a webpage). The design of the user interface therefore can be critical inenabling widespread use of the medium in an educational context.Solutions other than the present invention may be characterized ashaving relatively complicated and confusing user interfaces. Users,including both students and instructors, of these other solutions areconfronted with one or more web pages that typically require the user toreview and select a subsequent web page or function from among a largearray of potential user choices, thereby complicating the user's task ofinteracting with the system.

Further, many educational institutions have existing or legacynetwork-based systems which students access to obtain various types ofinformation (e.g., class schedules). The addition of yet anothernetwork-based system requires the host or sponsoring institution toincur implementation and maintenance costs associated with theinstallation, integration, administration, and maintenance of a newnetwork-based system. These costs place limits on the achieving thewidespread use of the medium for educational purposes.

Further, access, presentation, and aggregation of information containedin existing networks are provided from the institution's perspective andnot an individual student's perspective. Typically, a student mustaccess different locations or web pages of an institution's network foreach datum she wishes to inspect. Further, a student may have to log-onto multiple networks in order to access different items of data. Forexample, a student may wish to view his financial aid status beforeregistering for an upcoming course or semester. In existing networks,the student will have to traverse multiple web pages and possibly log-onto multiple networks in order to access his current financial aidstatus, assess that information, and then register online taking intoaccount his particular information. Many similar situations arecommonplace involving access to grading information, class schedule,exam materials, student group meetings, and other such information.Existing systems, in short, aggregate course, institution, and studentinformation in an institution-centric manner. This imposes a time costupon each student/user of the existing systems in order to reducecomplexity from the institution's implementation and maintenanceperspectives. However, given that these time costs are imposed on allstudents, the sum of these distributed costs outweigh the cost savingsrealized by the institution in the institution-centric approach,resulting in a net loss.

Further, instructors' teaching techniques are greatly variable, based onpersonal preference and the subject matter being taught. Network-basedsystems that do not provide for a significant degree of customizationare ill-suited to address to this need to accommodate diverse teachingmodes in a single system.

Further, a general concern with use of the electronic network medium isthat response time tends to slow as more users are added to the system.As response time becomes prohibitive, the time- and cost-effectivenessassociated with using the medium for educational purposes is greatlyreduced.

Many colleges and universities have stayed away from allowing on-lineregistration and tuition payment for a number of reasons, including highinitial setup costs and incompatible billing practices.

The exception to this rule are so-called virtual schools. Virtualschools traditionally charge an enrollment fee, and then offer freecourses. In lieu of paying for each course taken, a student is subjectedto advertising while viewing on-line course material. While such billingand income generation methods may be acceptable for companies providingon-line training, such methods are not consistent with traditionalcollege and university billing practices. Colleges and universitiestypically charge a low enrollment fee and bill students on a per-creditor per-course basis.

Therefore, it is a general object of the present invention to provide asystem and methods that allow users to interact with a computernetwork-based education support system through means of a simplified,easy-to-use user interface.

A further general object of the present invention is to provide a systemthat can be easily integrated with existing computer network and backendsystems with minimal disruption to existing operations and systems.

A still further general object of the present invention is to provide asystem that is scalable in order to accommodate increasing numbers ofusers, such that system responsiveness is not materially degraded as thenumber of users of the system grows to an increasingly large number.

A still further general object of the present invention is to provide asystem and methods that can accommodate a variety of diverse teachingmodes without requiring substantial modifications to the system.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a system thatallows multiple types of users to access the features of the system as afunction of their predefined role within the framework of the system(e.g. student, teacher, administrator).

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a system thatintegrates with the education platform provided therein value addedservices and control such as calendar, task, contact and communicationfunctions.

These as well as other objects of the present invention are apparentupon inspection of this specification, including the drawings andappendices attached hereto.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with these and other objects, provided is a system forproviding to a community of users access to a plurality of onlinecourses, comprising a plurality of user computers and a server computerin communication with each of the user computers over a network. Eachuser computer is associated with a user of the system having predefinedcharacteristics indicative of a predetermined role in the system. Eachrole provides a level of access to data files associated with a course,and a level of control over data files associated with a course. Theserver computer has means for storing data files associated with acourse, means for assigning a level of access to each file, wherein thelevel of access is associated with the ability of a user to access thefile, means for determining an access level of a user requesting accessto a file, and means for allowing access to a file associated with acourse as a function of the access level of the user.

The user roles comprise a student role associated with a student user,an instructor role associated with an instructor user, and anadministrator role associated with an administrator user (roles may bemixed; for example when an instructor of one course, is also a studentin another course). The instructor user is provided with an access levelto enable the creation and editing of a plurality of course filesassociated with a course. The course files include an announcement file,a course information file, a staff information file, a course documentsfile, an assignments file, a dropbox file, an asynchronous communicationfile, and a synchronous communication file.

The student user is provided with an access level to enable reading ofcourse files associated with a course. The student user is also providedwith an access level to enable modification of some of the filesassociated with a course. Also, the user may be provided with an accesslevel to enable creation of a student file associated with a file forwhich the student user is able to read. The file that the student isable to read may be an assessment file created by the instructor user,and the student file created by the student user is a response to theassessment file. The assessment file may be a plurality of examinationquestions selected by the instructor user to assess the ability of thestudent user. The examination questions may be selected by theinstructor user from a predetermined pool of available examinationquestions. The examination questions also may be created by theinstructor user substantially at the time of the creation of theassessment file and optionally added to the pool. The student file maybe reviewed by the instructor user and assigned a grade, which would bemade available online to the student user. The instructor user maycollate the grades obtained from reviewing a number of student files,and the collated grades may be made available online to all studentusers associated with the course (e.g.: an average for the class, a pieor bar chart, etc.).

The student will also be able to read an assignment file created by theinstructor user, and the student file created by the student user is aresponse to the assignment file.

The “digital dropbox” may contain a plurality of files transferred tothe server computer from one or more student users associated with thecourse. The instructor user may be provided with access to the files inthe dropbox file, whereby the instructor user may download, edit andupload the files in the dropbox.

A user may be required to enter a login sequence into a user computer inorder to be provided with access to course files associated with thatuser. The user is then provided with access to all courses with whichthe user is associated after entry of the logon sequence. The user isprovided with a web page comprising a plurality of course hyperlinks,each of the course hyperlinks associated with each course that the userhas been enrolled either as an instructor or as a student. Selection ofa course hyperlink will provide the user with a web page associated withthe selected course; the web page having content hyperlinks and buttonsto various content areas associated with the course. The contenthyperlinks and/or buttons include an announcement area hyperlink, acourse information hyperlink, a staff information hyperlink, a coursedocuments hyperlink, an assignments hyperlink, a communicationshyperlink, and a student tools hyperlink. Selection of the announcementarea hyperlink provides a web page including a group of courseannouncements. Selection of the course information hyperlink provides aweb page including information regarding the associated course.Selection of the staff information hyperlink provides a web pageincluding data regarding the instructors of the associated course.Selection of the course documents hyperlink provides a web pageincluding a listing of documents associated with the course, which maybe active hyperlinks to the documents. Selection of the assignmentshyperlink provides a web page including a group of course assignments.Selection of the communications hyperlink provides a web page includinghyperlinks to a group of communication tools including an asynchronouscommunication tool and a synchronous communication tool.

In another aspect if the invention, provided is a system for providingto a community of users access to online courses, including a servercomputer in communication with user computers over a network, whereinthe server computer has means for creating course user accounts from afile of existing user accounts associated with an external computer. Inthis manner, existing legacy systems having large members of useraccounts stored in memory may be integrated with this system withouthaving to re-enter user data into the system (so-called batchenrollment).

In yet another aspect of the invention, provided is a method forproviding online education, which includes the steps of establishing acourse to be offered online, offering the course to be taken online to agroup of student users; and providing access over the network to thecourse files to a student user who has enrolled in the course. Theestablishment of the course includes an instructor user generating a setof course files for use with teaching the course, then transferring thecourse files to a server computer for storage thereat, and then makingaccess to the course files available to a predefined community ofstudent users having access to the server computer over a network.

Preferably, at least one of the course files comprises a courseassignment, and the student user creates a student file in response tothe course assignment and transfers the student file to the servercomputer. The instructor user accesses the student file from the servercomputer, reviews the student file to determine compliance with thecourse assignment, and the instructor user assigns a grade to thestudent file as a function of the determination of compliance with thecourse assignment. The instructor user may post the grade to a file onthe server computer accessible only to the student user with which thegrade is associated. The instructor user may repeat these steps for anumber of student users that are enrolled in the course, and thenperform a statistical analysis on the grades assigned to the studentusers. The results of the statistical analysis may be made available tothe student users enrolled in the course.

An asynchronous communication tool accessible to student users enrolledin the course may be provided for enabling asynchronous communicationamongst the student users. Likewise, a synchronous communication toolaccessible to student users enrolled in the course may be provided forenabling synchronous communication amongst the student users.

The present invention also enhances the prior art by providing aflexible infrastructure for colleges, universities, and otherinstitutions wishing to facilitate on-line registration and tuitionpayment. More specifically, the present invention can accommodatedifferent billing methods, including, but not limited to, billing on aper-credit-hour basis, and billing on a per-registrant basis. Tuitionmay be paid by credit card, debit card, check, or other verifiablepayment method. Payment verification may be performed by the presentinvention, or the present invention may interface with third-partiesproviding payment verification services. In addition, the presentinvention allows on-line billing information to easily interface with acollege, university, or other institution's standard billing practices.Integrating with existing billing practices simplifies transition toautomated systems.

In addition, the present invention may be configured as an open systemwherein anyone can connect to a server over the Internet and create acourse online that may be taken by anyone else connected over theInternet. Thus, anyone may create a virtual classroom available toanyone else, regardless if they are affiliated with a particularinstitution such as a University. For example, a lawyer may create acourse in patent law online, and configure the system to require entryof a password to enroll. The lawyer may then disseminate the passwordsto desired students who can enroll in the course. Alternately, thelawyer can request the system to require payment to enroll in the coursesuch as by credit card.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an architectural block diagram of a preferred embodiment of aneducation support system according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 describes a preferred embodiment implementing load balancing toachieve scalability;

FIG. 3 illustrates the functioning of a preferred embodiment of anengine/registry model according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a preferred user interface according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 shows a screen shot of the home page that a user will view;

FIG. 6 is a screen shot of a web page showing the course list and coursecatalog available to student users;

FIG. 7 is a screen shot of the default view for a course web site;

FIG. 8 is a screen shot of the announcements provided to a student user;

FIG. 9 is a screen shot of the course contents window;

FIG. 10 is a screen shot of the assignments web page;

FIG. 11 is a screen shot of the course documents web page;

FIG. 12 is a screen shot of the communication center web page;

FIG. 13 is a screen shot of the asynchronous discussion board web page;

FIG. 14 is a screen shot of the student tools web page;

FIG. 15 is a screen shot of the student drop box web;

FIG. 16 is a screen shot of the instructor's control panel web page;

FIG. 17 is a screen shot of the announcements web page;

FIG. 18 is a screen shot of the course information web page;

FIG. 19 is a screen shot of the course tasks web page;

FIG. 20 is a screen shot of the instructor library web page;

FIG. 21 is a screen shot of the digital dropbox web page;

FIG. 22 is a screen shot of the course gradebook web page;

FIGS. 23A and 23B are a screen shot of the course statistics web page;

FIG. 24 is a screen shot of the advanced course and portal manager webpage;

FIG. 25 is a screen shot of the community web page;

FIG. 26 is a screen shot of the services web page;

FIG. 27 is a screen shot of the calendar web page;

FIG. 28 is a screen shot of the email web page;

FIG. 29 is a screen shot of the create a course web page;

FIGS. 30A and 30B are a screen shot of the create user web page;

FIG. 31 is a screen shot of the web resource web page;

FIG. 32 is a further screen shot of a web resource web page;

FIG. 33 is a screen shot of the virtual chat web page;

FIG. 34 is a block diagram illustrating information passed from a courseregistration server to a payment server;

FIG. 35 is a sample of a payment form;

FIG. 36 is a block diagram illustrating interaction between a paymentserver and a payment validation server;

FIG. 37 is a sample of a payment information page;

FIG. 38 is a block diagram illustrating post-order processing;

FIG. 39 is an overall block diagram of the system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 39, the present invention comprises a system andmethods for the exchange of course content and related informationbetween non-collocated instructor users and student users. An instructoruser interacts with one or more non-collocated student users by usingthe system and methods of the present invention to, without limitation,transmit course files including course lectures, textbooks, literature,and other course materials, receive student questions and input, andconduct participatory class discussions using an electronic network suchas the Internet or World Wide Web. Access to the course file iscontrolled by access levels and control logic, to ensure integrity andsecurity of the system. Also, administrator users have access to thesystem to perform administrative tasks as defined herein.

System Architecture

The system architecture of a preferred embodiment of an educationsupport system 100 according to the present invention is presented inFIG. 1. Referring now to FIG. 1, education support system 100 comprisesapplication subsystems 110, a web browser 120, a web host server 130, adatabase subsystem 140, and core subsystems 150. Web host server 130further comprises a shell service 131. Applications subsystems 110further comprise a content registry 111, a tool registry 112, a courseregistry 113, one or more content engines 114, one or more tool engines115, and one or more course engines 116. Core subsystems 150 furthercomprise a core engine 151, an access manager 152, a user interface(i.e., UI) manager 153, a user manager 154, a group manager 155, anevent manager 156, a log manager 157, and a connection manager 158.

In a presently preferred embodiment, education support system 100 isimplemented in a client-server network topology. Users (who may have oneor several roles such as a student, instructor, teaching assistant (TA),or administrator) access and interact with education support system 100via web browser 120. More specifically, a user accesses applicationsubsystems 110 and core subsystems 150 through shell service 131 servletproviding a standard Internet interface including, but not limited to,TCP/IP, HTTP, SMTP, and FTP to the user via web browser 120 running on astandard computing platform such as a personal computer or workstation.Specifically, shell service 131 servlet uses the URL-encoded informationcontained in HTTP requests received from web browser 120 clients toinvoke the corresponding requested application subsystem 110 or coresubsystem 150. Shell service 131 servlet also provides userauthentication and session management.

Application subsystems 110 function in conformance with anengine/registry model 300 as described in FIG. 3. Generally,engine/registry model 300 comprises one or more engines 301, a registry302, and a context factory 303. Engines 301 include, but are not limitedto, content engine(s) 114, tool engine(s) 115, course engine(s) 116, andcore engine 151. Registries 302 include, but are not limited to, contentregistry 111, tool registry 112, and course registry 113. Courseengine(s) 116 creates a course by associating together a set ofeducational materials to which a student user has access, by organizingreferences to these informational items as contained in content registry111. Specifically, course engine(s) 116 queries content registry 111 foran index to the content engine 114 associated with a particular resourcebeing requested by a user.

Content engine(s) 111 includes an assessment engine that generatesquizzes to assist and instruct users in the use of education supportsystem 100. For example, one such quiz provided by an assessment engineof education support system 100 provides step-by-step instructions to aninstructor for building a course. The quiz is then administered onlineto the instructor to allow him to build a customized course to beprovided using education support system 100.

Unlike content engines 111 which represent actual course content, toolengine(s) 115 generally comprise installable programs that providecapabilities available for use with a plurality of courses and notfixedly associated with any particular course or courses.

Instructors have different preferred modes of teaching. Further, thesame instructor may emphasize different modes of teaching depending uponthe subject being taught. For example, some instructors emphasizeindividual homework while others prefer a group or collaborativeapproach. Education support system 100 supports a variety of teachingmethods. By invoking a particular set of tool engines 115 duringinteraction with the assessment engine, an instructor can customize acourse offering to conform to her preferred mode of teaching. An exampleof a tool engine 115 is the chat/whiteboard communication tools(synchronous and/or asynchronous) provided by education support system100 that allows for student group interaction and collaborationassociated with a given course. Other tools include, but are not limitedto, announcements for broadcast of group-oriented messaging, a calendarmechanism for storing date-related events and information, a discussionboard for posting questions and answers in a threaded discussion format,notes-editing, group pages, and email services. Further capabilitiesprovided by education support system 100 include, but are not limitedto, a catalog listing of all courses available, means for student usersto enroll in either open enrollment or closed enrollment situations,means for course creation including course templates and course themes,a course/page editor and viewer, a site page editor and viewer, meansfor making and disseminating announcements, a calendar function, a chatboard in the nature of an online discussion, a white board allowinggroup interaction and display of free-form information using, forexample, Microsoft Paint™, means for sending email between instructorsand students and groups of students, a list of course members and linksto their web pages, a list of groups and links to their web pages, afile sharing area, means for providing assignments to student users,means for conducting a variety of types of student assessments (i.e.,testing), means for providing lesson material in sequential format,means for adding and removing users, help documents, maintaining a gradebook and progress tracking, links to personal web pages or home pages,and a resource library containing references to all uploaded content.Course templates allow instructors to easily reuse a course structurefor subsequent courses. Course themes allow the instructor to affect thelook and feel of the course site.

Further, a presently preferred embodiment of education support system100 supports a plurality of environments 400 in a single application.Examples of different environments 400 supported include thepersonalized web page of student-centric information accessed by astudent user and the administrator's environment used for maintenance ofthe system. Certain parts of the education support system 100application are consistent across all supported environments 400, whilethe appearance to the user may vary for different environments 400. Anenvironment 400 is defined by console frames that surround theapplication areas. An example of an environment 400 defined by afour-frame page as shown in FIG. 4 comprises a console navbar 401, andconsole top 402, a toolbar 403, and content 404. Console navbar 401 andconsole top 402 are controlled by a console frameset, while toolbar 403and content 404 are controlled by a separate frameset. For example,toolbar 403 “buttons” are always located in the top frame of anapplication area, regardless of the environment 400. This approachallows users, and especially instructors, the ability to customize theircourse offerings while conforming to consistent user interface featuresthat allow application areas to be shared across environments 400.Student users and instructors interact with education support system 100via the same basic environment 400 format.

Context factory 303 contains information mapping a user to one or morecourses associated with that user.

Access control manager 151 creates an access control list (ACL) for oneor more subsystems in response to a request from a subsystem to have itsresources protected through adherence to an ACL. Education supportsystem 100 provides multiple levels of access restrictions to enabledifferent types of users to effectively interact with the system (e.g.,access web pages, upload or download files, view grade information)while preserving confidentiality of information.

User manager 154 integrates the student-centric information withexisting network-based systems of an associated educational institution.In a presently preferred embodiment, user manager 154 comprises aruntime component and a batch component that periodically access andextract information contained in external institution databases in orderto maintain current student-centric information. User manager 154facilitates integration of education support system 100 with existing orlegacy network-based systems, including proprietary institutionalelectronic networks and systems related to grades, registration, courseschedules, financial aid, etc. without requiring modifications toexisting systems or security procedures.

In a presently preferred embodiment, application subsystems 110 and coresubsystems 150 interface with database subsystem 140 via the JavaDatabase Connectivity (JDBC) standard interface to allow use of anyrelational database including, but not limited to, SQL and DB2 UniversalDatabase standards.

Scalability is provided by the modular system architecture described inFIG. 1, and, in a preferred embodiment, through use of a load balancingserver 200 as shown in FIG. 2. As users are added to the system andaccess the system as web browser 120 clients, additional web serverhosts 130 may be added to the overall system to provide a matchingincrease in system capacity. Load balancing server 200 allocates new webbrowser clients 120 to the least-busy web server host 130 for servicing.By thus balancing the load across all web server hosts 130, educationsupport system 100 prevents response times from become unacceptably longfor any one given user. In a presently preferred embodiment, loadbalancing server 200 maintains one or more metrics concerning thepercent utilization for each web server host 130 and selects theleast-busy web server host 130 based upon application of a loadbalancing algorithm to these utilization metrics.

In a presently preferred embodiment, upon logging onto education supportsystem 100, shell service 131 servlet renders and presents to the user(via web browser 120) a personalized web page comprising astudent-centric aggregation of data that may include, withoutlimitation, personal class schedules, grades, a rolled-up orconsolidated calendar, links to related tools, student group events forgroups of which a particular student is a member, and classannouncements.

Education support system 100 executes on a variety of computingplatforms including, but not limited to, UNIX™ servers, NT™ servers,Solaris™, HP™, and Linux™. Education support system 100 supports popularweb browsers including, but not limited to, Netscape Navigator™ andMicrosoft Internet Explorer™, and, in a preferred embodiment, does notrequire plug-ins at the web browser client.

In a presently preferred embodiment, an automated upload or importcapability is provided in which a user may upload a file to the systemand system presents or displays the information contained in theuploaded file in a manner that preserves the grouping of theinformation, including fields and other categorization, based on thefile type. Education support system 100 provides a standard import fileformat to accomplish this preservation of native grouping ofinformation. In a presently most preferred embodiment, the automatedupload capability imports an uploaded file in both native and HTMLformats, maintaining the file formats associated with the native formatfor the native formatted file and converting the native format into HTMLformats for the HTML formatted file.

Education support system 100 supports a variety of business models. Forexample, an institution may charge each student for courses taken viaeducation support system 100; or, an instructor may use educationsupport system 100 to process individual student tuition payments byproviding links to e-commerce facilities.

Thus, a system and methods have been shown that that allow users tointeract with a computer network-based education support system throughmeans of a simplified, easy-to-use user interface, and that can beeasily integrated with existing computer network and backend systemswith minimal disruption to existing operations and systems. Thedisclosed system and methods is scalable in order to accommodateincreasing numbers of users, and can accommodate a variety of diverseteaching modes.

Three Tier Functionality

The present invention will now be described in further detail. Theinvention is embodied in four embodiments that represent three levels offunctionality of the system that can be provided to and by aninstitution, and one embodiment that can be offered to anyone on theInternet. One embodiment embodies a “first tier” functionality andincorporates the basic system, referred to as the Course Manager. TheCourse Manager provides course management system tools that enableinstructors to provide their students with course materials, discussionboards, virtual chat, online assessments, and a dedicated academicresource center on the Web. As explained further below, the CourseManager includes personal information management tools, course contentmanagement tools, course communication and collaboration tools,assessment tools, academic Web resources, course management tools, andsystem management tools.

A “second tier” embodiment incorporates all of the functionality of thebasic embodiment in an epicentric or portal model, also known as theCourse & Portal Manager. This embodiment expands beyond the first tierCourse Manager, and provides customized institution-wide portals forfaculty, students, staff, and alumni with access to numerouspersonalized news and information services from across the Web. Theplatform can be customized with institutional branding and a tailoredlook and feel. It enables institutions to develop online communities,Web-based email, calendar, announcements and tasks. It also allows for acentral access point to all of the institution's online services. Inaddition to the features of the Course Manager, the Course & PortalManager includes enterprise database support, customizable portalmodules and information services, web-based e-mail system, communitymanagement, institutional services management, extended customizationfor institutional branding, institution-wide content sharing andmanagement, and course e-commerce management.

The third embodiment is a third tier system, known as the AdvancedCourse & Portal Manager. This embodiment incorporates the completeend-to-end “e-Learning” solution. In addition to the Course and PortalManager, this third tier provides advanced Java-based API's for unifyingdiverse online campus systems into one integrated platform allowing foruser-driven single log-in service delivery, as well as capabilities thatallow each school, department or campus within the institution tomaintain its own customized environment. Thus, this is the fullyfunctional embodiment that includes all the features and functionalityof the first and second tiers and adds certain integration technologiesthat allow integration of the invention with existing enterprisesystems, such as for downloading student databases, etc. as definedfurther below. This includes a snapshot user management API, anevent-driven (real-time) user management API, an end user authentication(security) API, and a network protocol for passing user authenticationdata.

It is contemplated that each tier would be offered to institutions in alicensing program that would best suit the needs and budget of theinstitution.

A fourth embodiment of the invention is operated as a publicly availableweb site on the Internet, that may be accessed by anyone, whether theyare affiliated with an institution or not. In this embodiment, anyone onthe web can create a course, enroll in a public course, etc. asexplained further below. This provides for widespread dissemination oftools and utilities that enable anyone to generate his own course thatcan be taken by virtually any student.

As further explained herein, the course management tools featured in thepresent invention allow instructors to monitor, control and customizetheir course web sites from a web browser interface. The Course ControlPanel provides a robust and easy-to-use interface for such coursemanagement. The system allows instructors to customize the names ofcourse web site navigation buttons to suit their needs and requirements.The system also allows the instructor to add or drop individuals orgroups of students from a course as required. The system featuresextended student enrollment option, such as a limited-timeself-enrollment (e.g. certain dates only for the self-enroll feature),password-protected enrollment, and defined course duration (e.g. forself-paced study). Courses may be recycled between academic terms byautomatically resetting discussion boards, assessment, and other contentareas. In addition, the instructor can track student progress, gradesand content usage through the system.

As further explained herein, the content management tools featured inthe present invention allow instructors to post course documents, staffinformation, assignments, etc. Text may be typed directly into a form,or existing files may be accessed and uploaded automatically. Documentssuch as word processing files, spreadsheets, slide presentations,graphics, audio and video clips, etc. may be uploaded in this manner.Streaming multimedia may provided interactivity between the student andthe course. Pop-up maps provide easy course site navigation, thusenriching the teaching and learning environments.

The communication and collaboration tools enhance the interactionbetween the students and instructors with asynchronous discussion boardsas well as synchronous chat tools. Online discussions may be managedwherein messages are sortable by date, author, title, etc., and may bearchived and printed. A digital dropbox is a file sharing utility thatallows sharing of documents between users. Virtual office hours may beheld, and even field trips conducted online with these tools.

The assessment tools in the present invention increase studentpreparedness, measure student progress, and customize lessons bycreating and administering quizzes and surveys. Provided is an easy touse, step by step process to create the quizzes and surveys, wherein theinstructor may mix and match multiple question types such as multiplechoice, multiple correct, true/false, matching, ordering, fill in theblank, and essays. Multimedia or other attachments may easily beincluded with the assessment questions. Questions may be randomized andre-used from assessment pools. Tests provided to students may bepassword protected and timed, and may provide instant feedback tostudents. Advantageously, statistical reports may be created from theassessments and student answers.

The personal information management tools in the present invention allowstudents, instructors, administrators and all other users to accessbasic course, personal, and institutional data through a user-centric“My Institution” screen. The user may view announcements from multiplecourses in one central location, and maintain personal calendar, addressbook, user directory and to-do lists.

The present invention also provides for access to a plethora of academicresources that supplement the student's online education experience. Theuser may browse discipline-specific information, resources andcommunities linked to each course website. These academic resources maybe customized and personalized to fit the users' needs.

The system management tools available with the present invention allowsystem administrators to monitor, control and customize an institution'sonline teaching and learning environment from the web browser. Thesystem administrator may control security permissions and enable/disablefeatures for numerous user roles. Batch user enrollment (andunenrollment) may be performed system wide. Preferences and options maybe managed on multiple courses, all from within a central systemadministrator panel. The system administrator may also track and reportfaculty, student and course statistics, may plan and manage systemhardware requirements by assigning instructors with pre-assigned diskquotas for content storage, and may employ system-wide announcements tobroadcast messages to users about system maintenance or institutionalannouncements.

In the Course & Portal Manager embodiment, the enterprise databasesupport provides support for tens of thousands of users across an entireinstitution or system of institutions. User and course data may bemanaged efficiently and effectively. Moreover, large volumes oftransactions may be managed efficiently and effectively. The “MyInstitution” interface includes portal and community functionality alongwith quick access to web email, course and institutional announcements,and links to other campus departments. Administrators may enable ordisable portal modules and establish required and optional modules fromthe portal options menu bar. Administrators may also assign differentportal default settings to different user roles (e.g. students getdifferent portals than instructors).

Course e-commerce management functionality allows institutions to setprices and charge fees for course enrollment directly through the“e-Learning” platform.

In the Advanced Course & Portal Manager embodiment, the snapshot usermanagement tool allows scheduling of one-time or periodic (i.e. hourly,daily, weekly) data integration from existing student informationsystems, automating course population and keeping the “e-Learning”environment synchronized with administrative and student data. Moreover,the end-user authentication enables a single login environment for theinstitution portal for all students, instructors, administrators andstaff, which streamlines all campus services into a single web portalenvironment.

The present invention will now be described in further detail andembodiments. FIG. 5 shows a screen shot of the home page 500 that a userwill view, which is customizable in accordance with the requirements anddesires of any user. The home page may also be institutionally branded,so that the “Your Institution” logo 504 shown in FIG. 5 would displaythe name of the institution that has licensed the product (i.e. “NewYork University”). The home page also provides the user with directaccess to personal, course, and institutional tools. As an addedfeature, the system enables each user to select from a large number ofnews and information services, so that everyone who uses the system willhave access to the most recent and relevant information for them. All ofthis functionality is provided in one place—the home page—so that theinstitution can provide a sense of community on campus, with courses,and with a view to the external information sources.

By selecting the “Courses” tab 502 shown in FIG. 5, the user will belinked to a Course page 600 as shown in FIG. 6, which provides directlinks to the courses that they teach (602, 604) and/or are enrolled in(606, 608, 610). To access the course website, the user will click onthe course title (and 602, 604, 606, 608 or 610), he is automaticallylinked to a web page associated with that course. The user also has theopportunity to browse the course catalog 612 by selecting the links onthe right side of the page 600, where courses are listed according tocategory. The user may also search through the course search engine byselecting the Browse Course Catalog Link 614.

For example, by selecting the link 602 for the Introduction to Musiccourse, which the user in this example is teaching, the user is shownthe web page 700 illustrated in FIG. 7. The default view for the courseweb site 700 in this embodiment is the Announcements page 702, as shownin FIGS. 7 and 8. As seen at the lower part of the screen in FIG. 8, theuser has the option of selecting various types of views by filtering outcertain time-based announcements (i.e. today, last 2 weeks, last month,or all) by selecting button 802. The Announcements section can also belinked to after the user has left that page (i.e. is viewing anotherpart of the course web site) by simply clicking the Announcements button804 on the navigation toolbar 806 on the left of the web page.

Within the course website environment, the user is able to access all ofthe relevant course material and communication features as shown herein.The entire course outline may be displayed in a separate browser window900, wherein the course contents are available for perusal andhyperlinking as desired. FIG. 8 shows the entire web page forIntroduction to Music in two parts (an upper part and a lower part,which of course is scrollable as desired). As can be seen, one of thefunction buttons provided is labeled “Course Map” 808, which upon beingclicked will popup the Course Contents window 900 shown in FIG. 9 (in anexpanded browser window). As can be seen, the user will be able toexpand or collapse the various headings provided in order to drill intothe entire course contents as currently configured. So, for example, theuser can expand the Assignments section 902 and get a linkable list ofall the assignments that have been created for the course to date. Anyof the assignments may then be clicked for easy access thereto. Thisseparate window 900 is especially advantageous since it allows users tobrowse the entire course, regardless of their current location in theweb site.

Thus, by selecting any of the Assignments links 902, the user would belinked to the web page 1000 set forth in FIG. 10. This web page listseach assignment that has been compiled for the course, each of which canbe linked to web pages that contain the full details of the particularassignment. The assignment page 1000 shown in FIG. 10 may of course alsobe viewed by clicking the “Assignments” button 804 on the toolbar at theleft of the course home page shown in FIG. 8. In general, any of thefunctions that are provided by toolbar buttons on the navigation bar atthe left of the course home page will be available in any page accessedfor that site, so that easy navigation may be had and the user may jumparound and visit any desired portion of the course web site no matterwhere the user is currently located. Likewise, the Course Contentswindow provides similar functionality as described above.

As shown in FIG. 10, folders that have quizzes and surveys may be linkedto by viewing the assignments web page. Clicking on these folders willpresent the student and/or instructor with a quiz that may be takenonline, wherein the answers may be graded automatically, in real-time,as soon as the student has finished the quiz. This assessmentfunctionality will be explained in greater detail below.

In general, assignments may be provided in virtually any type of mediathat he instructor has at his disposal. For example, shown in FIG. 10 isa link 1002 to a multimedia presentation for “Physics in Music”, whichwill give the student a content-enriched lesson that will be useful,prior to the next lesson. Assignments may also be as simple as a textbased file that the student would read in preparation for the requiredclass session.

In addition to selecting the Assignments page 1000 or the Announcementspage 700, the user may select the Course Information button 1004 on thetoolbar. This will link the user to a web page that will listinformation provided by the instructor that is useful to the student,such as an introductory welcome message, links to helpful resources,etc. Resources otherwise found on other parts of the course web site mayalso be shown here if desired by the course web site developer. Linksmay be in the form of URLs to other web pages or resources, or tofolders that include groups of logically related resources.

Selection of the Staff Information navigation button 1006 will providethe user with a web page that will list each instructor, TA, professor,etc., along with an abstract listing office hours, address, telephonenumber, etc. on each, as well as a link that be clicked to send anemail. This gives the student with quick, easy access to any instructoras may be desired throughout the course. Images and other types ofmultimedia files may also be made available at this page for enhancedcontent viewing.

The user may select the “Course Documents” link 1008 shown in thenavigational toolbar, after which the web page 1100 on FIG. 11 isprovided for that course. This provides the user with immediate accessto all documents relevant to the course. As a student, the user hasaccess to all of the course materials, including additional links toinformation on the web that will enhance the instructional experience.As an instructor, the user has the ability to post documents of numerousfile formats and from disparate locations.

By selecting the “Communication” tab 1010 shown in FIG. 10, the studentis provided with the Communication Center web page 1200 as shown in FIG.12. In this area, the user has at his disposal many different ways ofestablishing communications with other users of the system as well asaccessing other areas of the system for various types of information.Thus, the user has access to an email utility 1202, a student rosterlist 1204, a list of student homepages 1206, a discussion board 1208, avirtual classroom chat 1210, and a group pages link 1212.

Selection of the Send E-Mail link 1202 loads a web page with variouslinks that allow the user to send email to individuals registered forthe course, to students only, to instructors only, etc. The emailfunction is accomplished via web-based email and allows for users tosend attachments, etc. as in many existing email packages availabletoday. Selection of the Student Roster link 1204 displays a web pagethat lists all of the students registered for the course, along withcontact information if allowed by the student (such as phone number,address, email address, etc.). Selection of the Student Pages link 1206provides a web page with links to the homepage for each student in theclass.

Another very effective communication tool is the asynchronous DiscussionBoard 1300, as shown in FIG. 13, which is displayed by the studentselecting the Discussion Board link 1208 of FIG. 12. Here, students canaccess this for threaded discussions that are archived for easyretrieval. By using the discussion board, students can help each otherlearn even more easily outside of regular class hours. It can also beused as an effective method for instructors and TAs to use as a tutorialtool for out-of-class questions and discussions that need to be savedfor the purpose of sharing with the rest of that class. This utilityoperates in accordance with techniques well known in the art.

By clicking on the Virtual Chat link 1210, the student is provided witha web page 3300 as shown in FIG. 33, labeled “virtual chat”. That is,each course has its unique chat area built into the course site.Students can engage in chats about the course, collaborate onassignments, and share information beyond the boundaries of theclassroom or posted materials. The instructor can monitor the chats oractively engage in discussions. This real-time virtual chat feature canalso accommodate a whiteboard mode.

Selection of the Group Pages link 1212 displays a web page that listsvarious groups of users that are grouped by special interests (such asmusic lovers, bookworms, sports fans, etc.). Access to these groups is adefinable parameter that is set by the system administrator.

Selection of the External Links button 1012 will display a web page thatis provided with URLs for relevant content that the instructor deems maybe useful to the student community. For example, in a law course, linksmay be provided to various legal research web sites, a Congressional webpage, etc.

Selection of the Student Tools button 1014 will display a web page 1400of associated links as shown in FIG. 14. These links include varioustools needed by the student, such as the Student Drop Box 1402, Changeyour Information 1404, Check Your Grade 1406, Edit Your Homepage 1408,Student Calendar 1410, and the Student Manual 1412.

By clicking the Student Drop Box link 1402, the student is provided witha web page that will allow control and access to the student's digitaldropbox, which is a folder of files that the student can exchange withthe course instructor. As shown in FIG. 15, the dropbox web page 1500allows the student to type in box 1502 the resource location of a filethat he wishes to provide to the instructor, or to browse his computer'shard drive with button 1504, network drive, etc. in accordance with wellknown techniques to locate the file and insert the appropriate pointer.Clicking the Send File button 1506 will finish the task of uploading thefile. A list 1508 of uploaded files that exist in the student's dropboxis also set forth in this page, along with a control link 1510 thatenables the removal of a file. By using this utility, the student cansubmit documents such as term papers to the instructor, who can thenread and post comments to the file for return to the student and review.

Selection of the Change Your Information link 1404 provides the studentwith a web page that sets forth his personal data, such as name,address, email, phone number, password, etc. In addition, certain systempreferences may be set at this location. Similar to this link is theEdit Your Homepage link 1408, which will allow the student to access hishomepage and make modifications as he desires (e.g. change a JPEGpicture on the page, change hotlink list, etc.)

Selection of the Check Your Grades link 1406 will deliver a web pagethat shows the grades that the student has been assessed in the course,such as for exams, quizzes, term papers, projects, assignments, etc. Thestudent may be able to link to the specific exam or paper through thisutility in order to review the exam again, which may be useful forexample in preparing for a final exam. The instructor may also provideto the student a statistical review of the entire class so that thestudent has a better feel for the grade he may receive (for example, theclass median, mean, curve data, etc.).

The Student Calendar button 1410 will provide well known PIM (personalinformation management) functionality to the student. The Calendar webpage can display calendar events in a graphical display for that course,all the student's courses, all institution events, as well as personalcalendar events programmed by the user. Thus, different entities canprogram calendar events, which can be selectively displayed by thestudent by selection of display functions on the page. For example, theinstructor can program the calendar events for the course, and anadministrator can program calendar events for the entire campus, andthese will be displayed on the student's calendar since he is registeredfor the course. This provides the student with a greater ability tomanage his calendar than has been available in the past.

The final button on the Student Tools web page is the Student Manuallink 1412, which when selected provides the student with access to anonline manual that may be used for a “help” reference in navigating theweb site.

Located below the navigation button toolbar is a group of controlbuttons 1420. The Resources button 1422 links directly to a web page ofrelated online resources to assist with course-related issues, asdescribed further below. The Course Map button 808 gives a separatebrowser window with direct access to the course contents, as explainedabove. The My Blackboard button 1424 gives access to “My Blackboard”functionality as explained below. The Search button 1426 enables theuser to search all course materials by criteria and keyword(s). TheLogout button 1428 logs the user out of the current course. There mayalso be an Enroll in this Course button to allow students to registerthemselves in courses (this button is only visible when the studentaccesses as a guest a course in which he is not enrolled).

Instructor Functionality

The instructor is provided with essentially the same functionality andcontrol as is the student user, with additional functions definedherein. That is, the instructor is provided with a complete set ofnavigational buttons for accessing announcements, course information,staff information, course documents, assignments, communication tools,external links, and student tools for a given course that he isteaching. The control panel is also given to the instructor to enabledisplay of a set of links to course management and development toolsthat are available to an instructor.

The instructor's control panel web page 1600 is shown in FIG. 16. Thiscontrol panel 1602 provides the instructor with many features that areuseful in managing the course he instructs. The control panel is dividedinto Content Areas 1604, Course Tools 1606, Course Options 1608, UserManagement 1610, Assessment 1612, and Assistance 1614, as set forthbelow.

Content Areas

The Announcement link 1616 displays a web page 1700 as shown in FIG. 17that will set forth all of the announcements that have been posted forthe course, the author (i.e. which instructor, if there are more thanone authorized to access this area) of the announcement, and a modifybutton 1702 and a remove button 1704. An add announcement button 1706 isalso provided, which displays a web page with a blank message field thathe instructor fills in and submits to the server. The newly addedannouncement will then be posted to all students registered in theclass.

The Course Information link 1618 displays a web page 1800 as shown inFIG. 18 that will set forth all of the course information documents orfolders that have been posted for the course, and a modify button 1802and a remove button 1804. An add item 1806 or add folder button 1808 isalso provided, which displays a web page with various fields that theinstructor will fill in to define the course information entry. Aftersubmitting the new entry to the server, the new course information isposted to all students registered in the class.

The Staff Information link 1620 displays a web page that will set forthall of the staff entries (i.e. instructors, Tasks, etc.) that areinvolved with the course, and a modify button and a remove button foreach entry similar to those shown in FIG. 18. An add item or add folderbutton is also provided, which displays a web page with various fieldsthat the instructor will fill in to define the new staff item entry.Fields are also provided for links to each staff member's email address,web page, etc. Images of the staff member may also be inserted in theentry. After submitting the new entry to the server, the new staffinformation is posted to all students registered in the class asexplained above.

Similarly, the Course Documents link 1622 displays a web page that willset forth all of the course documents or folders that have been postedfor the course, and a modify button and a remove button as discussedabove. An add item or add folder button is also provided, which displaysa web page with various fields that the instructor will fill in todefine the course documents entry. The document may be uploaded directlyto the server for later access by the student, or a link to an externalreferenced resource may be provided (i.e. a URL). After submitting thenew entry to the server, the new course information is posted to allstudents registered in the class as explained above.

Likewise, the Assignments link 1624 displays a web page that will setforth all of the course assignments or folders that have been posted forthe course, and a modify button and a remove button. An add item or addfolder button is also provided, which displays a web page with variousfields that the instructor will fill in to define the course assignmententry. The assignment entry may be uploaded directly to the server forlater access by the student. After submitting the new entry to theserver, the new course assignment is posted to all students registeredin the class as explained above.

Also, the External Links link 1626 displays a web page that will setforth all of the external links or folders that have been posted for thecourse, and a modify button and a remove button. An add item or addfolder button is also provided, which displays a web page with variousfields that the instructor will fill in to define the external linksentry. The external links entry may be uploaded directly to the serverfor later access by the student. After submitting the new entry to theserver, the new external link page is posted to all students registeredin the class as explained above.

Course Tools

Under the Course Tools section 1606, the Course Calendar link 1628displays a web page that will set forth all of the calendar events thathave been posted for the course, and a modify button and a removebutton. An add item button is also provided, which displays a web pagewith various fields that the instructor will fill in to define the newcalendar item entry (i.e. description, date, time, etc.). The calendarentry may be uploaded directly to the server for later access by thestudent. After submitting the new entry to the server, the new calendarpage is posted to all students registered in the class as explainedabove.

The Course Tasks link 1630 displays a web page 1900 as shown in FIG. 19that will set forth all of the tasks that have been posted for thecourse, and a modify button 1902 and a remove button 1904. An Add Taskbutton 1906 is also provided, which displays a web page with variousfields that the instructor will fill in to define the new task entry(i.e. description, date, time, etc.). The task entry may be uploadeddirectly to the server for later access by the student. After submittingthe new entry to the server, the new tasks page is posted to allstudents registered in the class as explained above.

The Send Email link 1632 displays a web page that is similar to the onethe user will be provided with in his email function (i.e. allowsselection of individual users associated with the course, certainpredefined groups of users such as all students, etc.)

The Instructor Library link 1634 displays a web page 2000 as shown inFIG. 20 that will set forth all of the folders and files that have beenposted by the instructor for the course, and a modify button 2002 and aremove button 2004. These materials are accessible to instructors only(professors, TAs, etc.), and not to students directly. An Add Filebutton 2006 and an Add Folder 2008 button is also provided, whichdisplays a web page with various fields that the instructor will fill into define the new entry. In addition, the instructor is able to selectthe Add From Institution button 2010 to select a new reference that isavailable from a pool of references made available to all instructorsfrom the institution. The new entry may be uploaded directly to theserver for later access by the instructors associated with the course.After submitting the new entry to the server, the new Instructor Librarypage is posted to all instructors associated with the course.

The Virtual Classroom link 1636 displays a web page that provides a linkto either launch a virtual classroom (and thus participate in real-time,synchronous classroom sessions), or to view the classroom archives (viewprevious classroom sessions and/or download these sessions to theinstructor's computer). Each course includes a Virtual Classroom, whichis a synchronous chat room for student and group communications. TheVirtual Classroom can be used to hold “live” classroom discussions, TAsessions, and office hour type question/answer forums. One can even haveguest speakers and subject matter experts talk with the class in theVirtual Classroom.

A Virtual Classroom contains several distinct areas. The WhiteboardSpace is where web pages are displayed, which is the large center area.One can also write or draw on this space using the drawing toolbar. TheMenu Bar is used to change the information that appears on thewhiteboard space, such as selecting a font to use on the whiteboardspace and moving an object on the whiteboard space behind anotherobject. One can also prepare lessons, navigate slides displayed on thewhiteboard space, and clear the Group Discussion tab and Questions andAnswers tab (refer to the Tab Panel description for further informationon these tabs). The Application Tool Bar contains tools for navigatingweb pages. The Location Field is used to enter the URL of a web page theuser would like to use during the Virtual Classroom session. The webpage is then displayed on the whiteboard space. Users can also write ordraw on the web page with the drawing toolbar. The Drawing Toolbar isused to write and draw on the whiteboard space. The Status Region iswhere status messages are displayed at the bottom of the VirtualClassroom window. The Tab Panel is used to chat with students, respondto students' questions, control classroom behavior, and view informationabout the students in the Virtual Classroom.

The following panels are available: Name of Tab Purpose Group DiscussionUse this tab to talk with the students in the Virtual Classroom.Questions and Answers If a student uses his/her Questions tab to submita question to the instructor, the instructor can then answer thequestion using the Incoming Questions tab. Thereafter, the instructorcan view a log of their dialogue regarding the question on the Questionsand Answers tab. Participant Information Use this tab to learn about thestudents in the Virtual Classroom, such as their names. Slides Use thistab to prepare and present a series of slides. (See Options in PreparingLessons). The tab is only available to the Instructor. IncomingQuestions If a student uses his/her Questions tab to submit a questionto the instructor, the instructor can then answer the question using theIncoming Questions tab. Thereafter, the instructor can view a log oftheir dialogue regarding the question on the Questions and Answers tab.The Incoming Questions tab is only available to the instructor. AccessControl Use this tab to control students' ability to conduct the fourVirtual Classroom activities: Question, Chat, Drawing, and Navigating.The tab is only available to the instructor.

Selection of the Discussion Board link 1638 displays a web page thatprovides links to the available discussion boards that are associatedwith the course. A discussion board is another communication tool to usein a classroom setting. This feature is similar to Virtual Chat, but isdesigned for asynchronous use, so users do not have to be available atthe same time to have a conversation. An additional advantage of thediscussion board is that user conversations are logged and organized.Conversations are grouped into forums that contain threads and allrelated replies.

Selection of the Digital Dropbox link 1640 displays a web page 2100 asshown in FIG. 21 that lists the files that exist in the digital dropbox.The Digital Dropbox is a tool that the instructor and students can useto exchange files. The Dropbox works by “uploading” a file from a diskor a computer to a central location. A participant can then come and“download” it to work locally. The Digital Dropbox is used to exchangematerials between a single student and the instructor. Information thatneeds to be posted for all students should be placed in the CourseDocuments area using the Page Editors.

Individual student access to the Dropbox is available from the FileTransfer Area located in Student Tools area on the Course. Students alsohave group access to a private dropbox from a group homepage.

The web page 2100 displayed lists the current files in the dropbox,which are the files that participants have sent to the user. Filesposted here can be accessed and saved. The Send File 2102 to the Studentarea is where files are uploaded and sent to specific students. The usercan also delete files that are no longer needed.

Course Options

The Course Options area 1608 includes a Course Options link 1642 thatwill display a web page to the instructor that has the links for ButtonAvailability, Tool Availability, Course Availability, Course Duration,Enrollment Options, Enrollment Fees, and Guest Access. Selection of theButton Availability link will display a web page that will allow theuser to set and configure the buttons that are used by students in thatcourse, including enabling or disabling them, or making them secure(i.e. only accessible by enrolled students). Selection of the ToolAvailability link will display a web page that will allow the instructorto enable or disable the student tools and communication functions forthat course (i.e. email, discussion board, virtual chat, student roster,group pages, student dropbox, edit homepage, personal information,calendar, grades, tasks, electric blackboard, student manual, and coursesearch). Selection of the Course Availability link will display a webpage that will allow the instructor to enable or disable theavailability of the course to students (i.e. it can be kept unavailableuntil the course site is finished). Selection of the Course Durationlink will display a web page that will allow the instructor to selectthe duration of the course (continuous, start and end dates, or numberof days from the date of enrollment). Selection of the EnrollmentOptions link will display a web page that will allow the instructor toselect the enrollment options as either “instructor led”, which allowsstudents to email enrollment requests to the instructor, or“self-enrollment”, which will specify the start and end dates andoptionally require entry by the student of an access code to enroll.Selection of the Enrollment Fees link will display a web page that willallow the instructor to specify if fees should be charged for enrollmentin the course, and what the fees should be. Selection of the GuestAccess link will display a web page that will allow the instructor tospecify if guests may access the course.

Selection of the Course Properties link 1644 in the Course Options area1608 displays a web page that enables the instructor to add and/or editcourse properties, including the course name, a description of thecourse, and a subject area for categorization purposes.

Selection of the Course Utilities link 1646 in the course options area1608 displays a web page that enables the instructor to select a CourseRecycler link, an Export Course Link, or an Import Course Cartridgelink. The Course Recycler link enables the instructor to recycle thecourse by selectively removing areas of the course, which are displayedas check boxes next to various content categories (course documents,course information, textbooks, assignments, etc.), various staff areas(staff information, faculty), and external web links. The instructor canalso choose to recycle other areas such as discussion boards, gradebook,assessments, etc. The Export Course link enables the instructor toexport all, or specific sections, of the course (i.e. content, users,assessments, and/or discussion boards). The Import Course Cartridge linkenables the instructor to download and install a course cartridge (ifthey have an access key).

Selection of the Course Images link 1648 in the course options areadisplays a web page that enables the instructor to select a Button Stylelink (to set the button styles for the course) and to select a CourseBanner link (to add or remove a course banner on the first page of thecourse).

Selection of the Academic Web Resource link 1650 in the course optionsarea displays a web page that enables the instructor to select anEnable/Disable Academic Web Button link (to enable or disable theresources button the course homepage) or a Customize Academic Web Buttonlink (to designate the Academic Resources for the course, wherein theinstructor can customize the number of links and the content that isavailable for the students).

User Management

Selection of the Add Users link 1652 in the user management area 1610displays a web page that enables the instructor to select a Create Userlink, an Enroll Existing User link, or a Batch Add User link. The CreateUser link displays a web page that will enable the instructor to createa new user account and enroll him in the course, by inputting name,address, etc. of the user, designating the user's role (student,instructor, TA, grader, etc.) and providing a password if desired. TheEnroll Existing User link displays a web page that enables theinstructor to enroll a user in the course. The Batch Add Users linkdisplays a web page that enables the instructor to create all of theuser accounts by uploading a text file containing the user data.

Selection of the List/Modify Users link 1654 in the user management area1610 displays a web page that enables the instructor to list and/ormodify the users of the course, while selection of the Remove Users link1656 displays a web page that enables the instructor to remove a user ifdesired from the course. Selection of the Manage Groups link 1658enables the instructor to create and edit certain user groups (e.g.gifted students, remedial students, etc.).

Assessment

Within the course, instructors are able to bring quizzes, tests, andsurveys online. Included may be essay, true/false, multiple choice,fill-in-the-blank, or matching questions. The questions can includetext, graphics or multimedia. For the student, instant feedback isprovided through automatic grading functionality. For the instructor,there is the ability to randomize the tests, time them, and createstatistical reports of outcomes. Assessments within this system are anoptimal way to increase student preparedness for class and to track andcompare student progress over time. The Assessment area 1612 of thecontrol panel 1602 allows the instructor to select an Assessment Managerlink 1660, a Pool Manager link 1662, an Online Gradebook link 1664, or aCourse Statistics link 1666.

Selection of the Assessment Manager link 1660 in the assessment area1612 displays a web page that enables the instructor to create, edit andotherwise manage the assessment content areas. For example, theinstructor may create an assessment by entering an assessment name, adescription, and setting certain parameters including Show DetailedResults (shows the students the results for each question instead ofsimply their final grade), Reveal Correct Answer (shows the students thecorrect answer for each question), Feedback Enabled (allows students toview the feedback that the instructor has entered for each question),Allow Multiple Attempts (allows students to take the assessment morethan once), Set Time for Quiz (sets a timer that is shown to the studentduring the exam), and Password Protect (allows only those students withthe entered password to take the test). By clicking the Modify option, aweb page is displayed that enables the instructor to modify theassessment by adding items. An item is added by selecting the type ofquestion (multiple choice, true/false, fill in the blank, etc.), typingin the question text and possible answers (i.e. if it is multiplechoice) with an indication of the correct one, specify the order ofanswers, etc. The order of the questions can be changed in this web pageas well.

Selection of the Pool Manager link 1662 in the assessment area 1612displays a web page that enables the instructor to Add Pool, ImportPool, Search Pool, or Export Pool. Pools are predefined groups ofquestions and answer sets that are logically linked, usually by subjectmatter, so that an instructor may draw from a pool to obtain existingquestions and answers sets from other courses, instructors, semesters,etc. and not have to “recreate the wheel” every time they generate ormodify a test. Thus, by clicking the Add Pool button, the instructor canadd a new pool to the list of pools displayed on the Pool Manager webpage. He will have to type in the name of the new pool and a descriptionof it on this form. By clicking the Import Pool button, the instructorwill enter the name of an existing pool to import, or alternativelybrowse a disk drive to find the pool to import. By clicking the SearchPool button, the instructor is presented with a web page that willenumerate various available pools that can be searched for questions ofinterest for importing. The entire pool can be previewed by selecting apreview mode, and all of the available questions in that pool may beviewed. By clicking the Export Pool button, a pool may be selected forexporting purposes. For the list of available pools set forth on thePool manager page, the instructor may modify the pool, in which case aweb page is displayed that lists all of the questions (and associatedanswer sets) that are in the pool. Each question in the pool may bemodified in the same manner as explained above with respect to theassessment manager. Likewise, questions may be deleted entirely from apool, and new questions may be added to the pool as described above withrespect to the assessment manager.

Selection of the Online Gradebook link 1664 in the assessment areadisplays a web page that enables the instructor to perform variousfunctions with respect to the online course gradebook. FIG. 22illustrates a web page 2200 entitled “Course Gradebook”, which providesa variety of information including consolidated grades, individualassignment/test scores, direct access to specific assignments or testsby student, or a look at a specific test with aggregated results. Thisallows the instructor to organize the grade information so that it ismeaningful. It provides insight into the effectiveness of certainassignments and provides a bridge for allowing instructor-assessment ofassignment and class content. The functions provided on the OnlineGradebook web page in the assessment area of the control panel includeReport By User (used to find a specific user and view statistics,assessment results, and modification of any scores for a user), ReportBy Item (used to view information about a specific gradebook item),Spreadsheet View (standard gradebook view as shown in FIG. 22, theinstructor can modify, add or remove gradebook entries as well as viewassessment results), and Export Gradebook (exported as a comma-delimitedfile).

Selection of the Course Statistics link 1666 in the assessment areadisplays a web page that enables the instructor to set parameters andview certain statistics for their course. Most instructors want toanalyze their class by how much their online materials are beingaccessed, but very few have the opportunity to take the time or theeffort to determine these numbers. By using the course statistics webpage 2300 shown in FIGS. 23A and 23B, the system provides a rich toolset for instructors to evaluate the relative statistics of theircourses. These statistics may be valuable for evaluating online versusnon-online courses to determine the relative efficacy of onlinematerials and how they are enhancing the course. Thus, the CourseStatistics web page has input fields for selecting a report filter,which will yield a report with Overall Summary of Course Usage, MainContent Areas report, Communication Areas Report, Group Areas Report, orStudent Areas Report. The time period must be specified, which may beall dates or between a beginning date and an end date. The users must beselected, which will be either all users or a selected subset thereof.Other options include Total Number of Access per Area 2302, Number ofAccesses over Time 2304, User Accesses per Hour of Day 2306 (or Day ofWeek 2308), and Total Accesses by User 2310. The data, charts and graphsas shown in FIGS. 23A and 23B will then be displayed to the instructor.

Assistance

Finally, there is an Assistance area 1614 defined in the Control Panel,which sets forth links that will provide the instructor with varioustypes of help. Selecting the Online Manual link 1668 will bring up anHTML based Instructor Manual in a separate browser window. The OnlineSupport link 1670 will bring up a web page with contact info for sendingan email to a support person, and the Contact Admin link 1672 will bringup a web page with contact info for sending an email to anadministrative contact.

Administrator Functionality

The Administrator Panel 2402, shown in FIG. 24, gives the systemadministrator complete access to all of the features of the systemincluding portal features, course and club creation and management,institution and system tools, e-commerce features, user management, andother various institutional options. This is accessed by selecting theEnterprise Administration tab 2404 shown on the homepage.

The Administrator panel 2402 includes a Portal Areas group 2406 offunctions, a System Tools area 2408, an Enterprise Tools Area 2410, aSystem Options Area 2412, a Course and Community Management area 2414, aUser Management Area 2416, an E-Commerce Area 2418, and an Assistancearea 2420, as explained further below.

Portal Areas

Selection of the My Institution tab 2422 in the Portal Area 2406provides a web page that lists four hyperlink selectable options:Customize Institution Tab, Institutional Module Options, All ModuleOptions, and Off-Campus Institution Partnerships. The CustomizeInstitution Tab link will provide a web page that allows the user (theenterprise administrator, in this case) to enable/disable the appearanceof the “My Institution” tab for all users, as well as enable/disable aWelcome Message that may be displayed at logon. The user may also selectan image for the tab, as well as the name, and provide a predefined URLthat will be associated with the tab when selected by the end user.

The Institutional Module Options refers to the default layout is the setof modules that new users sees the first time they log in to the portal.This allows the enterprise administrator to enable/disable and/or set asrequired the following modules: My Courses, My Organizations, Today'sAnnouncements, Today's Tasks, Today's Calendar, School Services, StudentModule, Faculty Module, Staff Module, Alumni Module, Perspective StudentModule, Guest Module, Other Module, Institution Newspaper Module, andBlank Module (a blank module that can be customized).

The All Module Options link allows the user to enable/disable and/or setas required the following modules: Bookmark, Calculator, Channels, Clip,Comment Clip, Custom Search, Directory, Discussion Boards, variousco-branded portal links (such as EXCITE news, entertainment features,stock prices, sports updates, maps, etc.), shopping site links, yellowpages links, etc.

The Off-Campus Institution Partnerships link allows the user to add,modify, and edit hyperlinks to web sites with which the institution hasformed various partner or other types of arrangements; for example, apartnership with an off-campus bookstore may be provided as a means forsupplementing the on campus bookstore.

Selection of the Course tab 2424 in the Portal Area provides a web pagethat lists four hyperlink selectable options: Customize Courses Tab,Enable/Disable Course Creation, Course Catalog Options, and Off-CampusLearning Partnerships. The Customize Courses Tab link will provide a webpage that allows the user (the enterprise administrator, in this case)to enable/disable the appearance of the “Courses” tab for all users. Theuser may also select an image for the tab, as well as the name, andprovide a predefined URL that will be associated with the tab whenselected by the end user.

Selection of the Enable/Disable Creation Option link provides a web pagethat allows the enterprise administrator to select an option to notallow users to create courses, to allow users to create courses, or toallow the user to send an email request for course creation. Selectionof the Course Catalog Options link provides a web page that allows theenterprise administrator to select the use of a default course catalogor to specify the use of an internal course catalog and the URL of itslocation. The Off-Campus Learning Partnerships link allows the user toadd, modify, and edit hyperlinks to web sites with which the institutionhas formed various learning partner arrangements; for example, a link tothe KAPLAN or TUTORNET web sites.

Selection of the Community tab 2426 in the Portal Area provides a webpage that lists five hyperlink selectable options: Customize CommunityTab, Enable/Disable User Creation of Organizations and DiscussionBoards, Organization Catalog Options, Manage Discussion Boards, andOff-Campus Community Partnerships. The Customize Community Tab link willprovide a web page that allows the enterprise administrator toenable/disable the appearance of the “Community” tab for all users. Theuser may also select an image for the tab, as well as the name, andprovide a predefined URL that will be associated with the tab whenselected by the end user.

Selection of the Enable/Disable User Creation of Organizations andDiscussion Boards link provides a web page that allows the enterpriseadministrator to select options to allow or disallow instructors andstudents to generate general organizations and discussion boards fromthe Community Tab or limit organization/discussion board creation to thesystem administrator.

Selection of the Organization Catalog Options link provides a web pagethat allows the enterprise administrator to select the use of a defaultclub catalog or to specify the use of an internal club catalog and theURL of its location. The Manage Discussion Board link provides a webpage that allows the user to set various parameters and otherwise addand manage various discussion boards on the system. The Off-CampusCommunity Partnerships link allows the user to add, modify, and edithyperlinks to web sites with which the institution has formed variousarrangements.

Selection of the Services tab 2428 in the Portal Area provides a webpage that lists three hyperlink selectable options: Customize ServicesTab, Institution Services, and Off-Campus Service Partnerships. TheCustomize Services Tab link will provide a web page that allows theenterprise administrator to enable/disable the appearance of the“Services” tab for all users. The user may also select an image for thetab, as well as the name, and provide a predefined URL that will beassociated with the tab when selected by the end user.

Selection of the Institution Services tab allows the user to create andmanage links to other relevant parts of the campus intranet. TheOff-Campus Service Partnerships link allows the user to add, modify, andedit hyperlinks to web sites with which the institution has formedvarious service arrangements.

Under the System Tools area 2408 of the Portal Manager web page, variouslinks are provided to web pages that allow the enterprise administratorto manage Announcements 2410, the Institution Calendar 2412, theInstitution Tasks 2414, and Send E-Mail 2416 in a manner similar to whatwas described with respect to similar tabs in the previously describedsections above.

Under the Enterprise Tools area 2410 of the Portal Manager, links areprovided to web pages that allow the enterprise manager to ManageInstitution Library 2418, and View Published Requests. The ManageInstitution Library web page allows the user to add new items from localdisk or his inbox into the institution library, edit items, removeitems, etc. The View Published Requests web page allows users to view,approve and reject instructor published files for the InstitutionLibrary.

Under the System Option area 2412 of the Portal Manager, the user isprovided with links to Gateway Options 2424, System Settings 2426,System Statistics 2428, Institution Properties 2430, Colors and Images2432, and Course Marketing 2434. The Gateway Options link 2424 providesa web page that will determine whether the login button, course catalog,and new user account button appears on the gateway page. The SystemSettings link 2426 provides a web page with links to Button Overrides(sets which button areas can be used throughout the system), ToolOverrides (sets which tools can be used throughout the system), SystemSettings/Overrides (set overrides for course and club tools andproperties across the entire system), and Course Disk Quotas (sets filesystem disk quotas for courses).

The System Statistics link 2428 provides a web page with links to aSystem Reports web page (which allows the enterprise administrator toview reports covering the system and its usage), an Auto-ReportingOptions web page (which sets various options for automatically reportingstatistics to a service provider), and a Send System Statistics web page(which will send the statistics to the service provider on demand).

The Institution Properties tab 2430 provides a web page that allows theenterprise administrator to view system information such the currentversion of the software, the registration page, and email contacts. TheColors and Images link 2432 allows access to a web page that allows theadministrator to modify the aesthetic properties of the web site.

The Course and Community Management area 2414 of the Portal Managerprovides hyperlinks for Create Course 2436, Manage Courses 2438, CourseUtilities 2440, Course Catalog 2442, Create Organization 2444, ManageOrganization 2446, Organization Utilities 2448, and Organization Catalog2450.

The Create Course web page 2900 is shown in FIG. 29. There, theadministrator will enter the requested information about the desiredcourse; i.e. the course name, and ID, and a textual description. Theadministrator can then specify properties of the buttons that will beused along with the course to match his aesthetic concerns. Theadministrator can then specify various options, such as the subject areaof the course, whether guests may access the course, if the course iscurrently available, if a course cartridge may be obtained and its URLand access key, and the instructor ID for the course.

The Manage Courses web page allows the administrator to list and/ormodify courses, remove them from the system, and set certain defaulttools (email, Discussion Board, Virtual Chat, Roster, etc.) and buttons(Announcements, Course Information, Staff Information, VirtualClassroom, etc.) to be used with each course in the system. The CourseUtilities web page allows the administrator to select a Copy Course link(to make a copy of a course with a new course ID), an Import Courselink, an Export Course link, and a Batch Create Courses link. The CourseCatalog link allows the user to categorize course and otherwise managethe course catalog.

The Create Organization, Manage Organization, Organization Utilities,and Organization Catalog links allow the user to obtain similar controland functionality with organizations as with courses as described above.

The User Management area 2416 of the Portal Manager provides hyperlinksfor Create User 2452, Manage Users 2454, and User Utilities 2456. TheCreate User web page 3000 (FIGS. 30A and 30B) allows creation of a userentry by entering personal information such as name, address, etc., anda user name and password. The role of the user is set at this time,which may be a Student, Faculty, Staff, Alumni, Guest, etc. Also, theuser may be given an administrative role at this point by selecting theappropriate option that is available (None, System Admin, SystemSupport, Course Creator, Account Admin). The role of the user willdetermine the access and control of the system that the user will haveas explained throughout this document. Once a user is created, theManage User web page allows listing, modification, and/or removal ofusers. The User Utilities link 2456 allows the system administrator toBatch Create Users (upload a file of user data in predefined formatscompatible with the system), Batch Enroll Users (import a file to enrollusers in courses and clubs that exist in the system), and Batch RemoveUsers (import a file to remove users from the system).

The E-Commerce area 2418 of the Portal Manager provides links to webpages for Sponsorships 2458, Partnership Program 2460, and CourseE-Commerce 2462. The Sponsorship web page has links to Primary SiteSponsor web page a “My Institution” Area Sponsor, a Course Area Sponsor,a Community Area Sponsor, and a Services Area Sponsor. These links allowthe user to designate if a sponsor is used in each of these capacities,an image of the sponsor link, etc.). The Partnership program page allowsthe administrator to enroll the institution in the service providerpartnership program, which can bring additional e-commerce opportunitiesto the portal environment. The Course E-Commerce page provides links toEnable/Disable Course and Club E-Commerce (to select e-commerce optionsfor charging fees for the courses or clubs, allow administrators to setprices, allow club leaders or instructors to set prices, etc.), and aPrice Course link to manage or set the cost of enrolling in courses ororganizations.

Other Utilities and Functions

One of the key elements to college and university life is the ability tosocialize and take advantage of the human element on campus. Thesystem's “Community” tab 2502 provides the web page 2500 shown in FIG.25, which allows students to interact and be involved in all aspects ofcampus life from fraternities and sororities to off-campus communitiesthat enhance the learning experience. Many campuses also provide richservices such as job availability through the community function. TheCommunity center is the web equivalent of the student union building.

Most students are so conversant in online services that they prefer tohave campus administrative services available all the time on the web.The system provides an enterprise level teaching and learning systemthat allows tight integration into student information systems and othercampus systems to provide anytime, anywhere administrative services. TheServices web page 2600 shown in FIG. 26 (selected by tab 2602) enablesusers to register, add, drop, check records, or even pay parking ticketswhile online at anytime.

The system also provides a calendar 2700 that incorporates personal aswell as institutional information in a single view, as shown in FIG. 27.The calendar utility gives students and teachers access to all calendarevents for each of the courses they are enrolled in, as well asinstitutional calendar events.

Since email is the single most popular application on the Internettoday, and the leading reason that most people purchase personalcomputers, email has been integrated with the system, as shown by theweb page 2800 in FIG. 28. Within a personalized home page, the user willbe able to access complete email capabilities. The email system sits ontop of the existing POP or IMAP server and offers a web-based front endso that the user may access messages from any machine at any time.

FIGS. 31 and 32 show web pages 3100 and 3200 that can be accessed by tab3102 to provide links that allow students and teachers to find andaccess academic resources and content. These resources are alsocontext-sensitive to the course discipline. For example, if one accessesthe academic web resources from an accounting course, he isautomatically directed to news and information sources that are relevantto accounting. The user has access to news, web links, reference works,and search engines that enhance the ability to locate relevantinformation quickly.

In another aspect of the invention, provided is a system and method forapplying E-commerce to education. Specifically, this aspect of theinvention allows users visiting a web site to register and pay forcourses provided by a college, university, or other institution.

FIG. 34 is a block diagram illustrating information passed from a courseregistration server to a payment server. As a current or prospectivestudent reviews courses offered by a college, university, or otherinstitution, a student may add courses of interest to a list, or“shopping cart”.

When a student has selected courses for which they would like toregister, a student may proceed from a registration or review area(Block 100) to a “checkout” area (Block 110), as illustrated in FIG. 34.When a student proceeds to a checkout, information, such as, but notlimited to, name, address, cost of courses, order identifier, orderdescription, and a page to which a user is to be returned when an orderis complete, is passed on. Information passed from a registration orreview area may be used to generate a payment form.

FIG. 35 is a sample of a payment form. A payment form may consist of anintroductory paragraph 210, a purchase summary 220, a paymentinformation area 230, and the like. An introductory paragraph 210 may beused to instruct a student in requirements at each stage of the paymentprocess. A purchase summary 220 may include services and productsselected, per-unit prices, quantities requested, inventory numbers foreach product or service selected, an invoice or purchase number, a totalprice, and other, similar information.

A payment information area 230 can be used to collect paymentinformation from a student. A student may be required to enter someinformation manually, such as, but not limited to, credit card type,credit card number, credit card expiration date, name on credit card,credit card billing address, check number, checking account number, bankrouting number, debit card number, and personal identification number(“PIN code”).

If a student has previously used the present invention, some informationmay be automatically entered based on previously submitted forms.Information transferred from a registration server may also be used tofill in some form fields. When a student has reviewed enteredinformation, a form may be submitted for processing by activating abutton or other interface element.

FIG. 36 is a block diagram illustrating interaction between a paymentserver and a payment validation server. After a student has enterednecessary information into a payment form and submitted the form (Block300), some information, such as, but not limited to, amount of purchase,credit card number, name on credit card, check number, bank routingnumber, or billing address, may be transmitted to a payment validationserver (Block 310). A payment validation server may be maintained aspart of the present invention, or payment validation servers may bemaintained by one or more third parties, such as, but not limited to,CyberCash, Inc.

A payment validation server processes transmitted information, contactsa bank or other institution issuing the credit card or other paymentform, and verifies that a payment of the amount requested is authorized.If payment of the requested amount is authorized, authorizationinformation, including, but not limited to, a confirmation number, maybe transmitted to a payment server. If payment of the specified amountis not authorized, other information, such as a declination code, may betransmitted to a payment server. If payment is not authorized, a paymenterror message similar to Block 320 may be displayed. FIG. 37 is a sampleof a payment information page. A student may print or otherwise recordinformation displayed on a payment information page for his or herrecords. A payment information page can include a thank you,confirmation, or other message (Block 410). A payment information pagemay also include information such as, but not limited to, confirmationor declination information; goods, services, and classes purchased; andtotal price charged (Block 420). In addition, a payment information pagemay include a button or other interface element which a user canactivate to continue processing. The exact behavior of this interfaceelement may be determined by the referring system through the URL orother data element which is illustrated in FIG. 34.

FIG. 38 is a block diagram illustrating post-order processing. Aspreviously stated, a payment information page may also contain a buttonor other interface element which, when activated, causes a web page tobe displayed or performs other processing steps. Activating the buttonor interface element may also cause some authorization/declinationinformation to be transferred to a college, university, or otherinstitution's accounting department for processing (Block 530).

Open Web Environment

The present invention may be used as an open platform environment, whereanyone with access to the Internet may register as an instructor tocreate, administer, and make available a course to anyone else withInternet access. Thus, by entering a publicly available website such aswww.blackboard.com, a user may register as an instructor and be providedwith an instructor control panel for creating course as describedherein. To create the course, the user will define course parameterssuch as a description, enrollment options, announcements, assessments,course materials, etc., and provide them in the various web pages asdescribed above. The user can then let others know about theavailability of the course online, and a potential student may accessthe publicly available web site to enroll in the course. In this manner,anyone can create a virtual classroom without the need to be affiliatedwith an institution, and disseminate knowledge through the course aspreviously unavailable.

While the preferred embodiment and various alternative embodiments ofthe invention have been disclosed and described in detail herein, it maybe apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form anddetail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scopethereof. In addition, titles and descriptions included in the Figuresare included to disclose the best mode contemplated by the inventor atthe time of filing, and should not be construed as limiting theinvention.

1-48. (canceled)
 49. A method for providing access to courses in anon-line course-based instruction system, comprising the steps of:defining a plurality of roles, with different roles providing a userwith associated respective levels of access to courses in the system,the number of the plurality of roles being configurable; and for eachcourse for which the user is to have a level of access, assigning theuser one of the plurality of roles.
 50. The method of claim 1, whereinthe number of the plurality of roles is configurable by anadministrator.
 51. A method for providing access to courses in anon-line course-based instruction system, comprising the steps of:defining a plurality of roles, with different roles providing a userwith associated respective levels of access to courses in the system,the number of the plurality of roles being configurable for each of thecourses; and for each course for which the user is to have a level ofaccess, assigning the user one of the plurality of roles.
 52. A systemfor providing to a community of users access to a plurality of onlinecourses, comprising: a server computer in communication with each of aplurality of user computers over a network, the server computercomprising: means for storing a plurality of data files associated witha course, means for assigning a level of access to and control of eachdata file based on a user of the system's predetermined role in acourse; means for determining whether access to a data file associatedwith the course is authorized; means for allowing access to and controlof the data file associated with the course if authorization is grantedbased on the access level of the user of the system; and means forpresenting a respective, customizable home page to each user of thesystem, said customizable home page including information related to oneor more of the online courses with which the user is affiliated.
 53. Amethod for providing access to courses in an on-line course-basedinstruction system, comprising the steps of: defining a plurality ofroles, with different roles providing a user with associated respectivelevels of access to courses in the system, at least one of theassociated levels of access having a set of configurable parameters; andfor each course for which the user is to have a level of access,assigning the user one of the plurality of roles.